Tips to Protect Your Email Account from Hackers

In the world of technology, there is always the danger of a security breach. The most common of this instance is when a hacker is able to access your email account to your demise and it generally makes your vital files, documents and perhaps important project portfolios and other essential documents with respect to your work highly vulnerable to a third party. Who knows, the hacker just might be a competitor who wants to take a peek of your valuable exchange of business correspondence with your clients or to completely pirate your active clients away from you. There is a high chance however that it could be any hacker who is just waiting for their prey at any opportunity that they can find to victimize.

Because many professionals are using their emails for their officials business, an email account becomes your valuable property and perhaps an asset that allows you to keep in touch and connect with your clients. Because of this reason, protecting your email account at all costs should always be a priority. If you are one among these professionals who find it a priority in keeping your email safe and protected against hackers, here are some useful tips to keep your email correspondence and files safe.

Here’s how you can protect your email From hackers:-

1. Before you create an email account you will be prompted to provide your own password. Maintaining a strong password for your email account is your first line of defense against hackers. A strong password attribute is one in combination of letters, numbers, lower and upper cases which makes it difficult to hack.

2. Make your password more difficult by adding punctuation marks and other symbols when your email service provider allows them to form part of your password.

3. Do not be tempted to use your birthday, nickname, pet name, family name or anything closely related to you that can be easily thought of by anyone as your password. If you are unsure whether you are creating a good password, make use of free sites that offer a tool for generating strong passwords like the PC Tool by Semantics.

4. When creating accounts to different websites that use your email address for log in, be sure that you have secured for yourself a difficult password to break on each account but make sure to have your own password manager to easily remember all your different passwords.

5. Never use the same password as your email account when signing up on various online sites.

6. Be wary about cell phone spyware that could be monitoring your device each time you get access to your email using your mobile phone. They can run stealth which quietly monitors your email correspondence without you knowing it. You should constantly update your operating system, launch a malware scan periodically on your phone and always audit your program file to check for suspicious programs that are installed on your mobile device.

7. Creating an alternative email account will give you another contingency plan on how to access your hacked email account or prevent hackers from gaining access to it. In case someone else managed to hack your email, you have an opportunity to access it again through your secondary email and change the account password.

8. When providing for an answer to a security question, make sure to provide an answer that can’t be easily guessed.   Look for a more unexpected answer, more so a memorable event in your life, which can take a hacker an eternity to find out. A complicated answer to these questions as long as you can fully remember or memorize it can drive away a hacker.  Unless he has the leniency of time, he’ll definitely leave your account alone immediately to find other accounts who can be hacked easily.

9. It is not impossible to find yourself needing to access a public computer in order to access your email in case of emergency. Internet café is the most common place where you can have an easy access to a public computer. When you do so, make sure that you have the automatic log in box unchecked before you start accessing your email account.

10. Ensure that you have successfully logged out of your account before leaving the public computer otherwise you are simply giving just anyone an instant access to your email account to your misfortune. 

Source: http://www.techtricksworld.com/

How To Remove Dual Boot in Windows – Get rid of the second OS

Steps to remove dual boot in Windows:

If you’ve properly installed a second operating system on your computer, there’s probably a folder containing its files on a separate partition. First step of getting rid of the second OS is as simple as deleting that folder. If you’ve been really smart and also installed all programs for that operating system in another partition, away from the program files of your primary operating system, then it’s wiser to just format that partition. In case your program files are mixed up, you will have to manually delete them.

Now, to remove the prompt at the boot screen, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Go to Start menu.

Step 2: Click Run (in case of Windows XP, Vista and 7) or right click the bottom left corner and click Run (in case of Windows 8).

Step 3: Type “msconfig”

Step 4: Go to the Boot tab. You should see your operating systems listed, with one being the Default OS. If the Default OS isn’t the one you want, simply highlight your primary OS and click “Set as Default”.

Step 5: Now highlight your secondary OS and click “Delete”.

That’s it, now your PC won’t prompt on boot to select an operating system. 

Courtesy : http://sapost.blogspot.in/

USEFUL MICROSOFT EXCEL SHORTCUTS

USEFUL ALL MICROSOFT EXCEL Shortcuts: -

CTRL+(     : Unhides any hidden rows within the selection.
CTRL+)     : Unhides any hidden columns within the selection.
CTRL+~    :Applies the General number format.
CTRL+$    :Applies the Currency format with two decimal places (negative numbers in parentheses).
CTRL+%   :Applies the Percentage format with no decimal places.
CTRL+^    : Applies the Exponential number format with two decimal places.
CTRL+#    :Applies the Date format with the day, month, and year.
CTRL+@   : Applies the Time format with the hour and minute, and AM or PM.
CTRL+!     : Applies the Number format with two decimal places, thousands separator, and minus sign (-) for negative values. 

CTRL+-     :Displays the Delete dialog box to delete the selected cells.
CTRL+*    :Selects the current region around the active cell (the data area enclosed by blank rows and blank columns).
CTRL+:     :Enters the current time.
CTRL+ ;    :semicolon Enters the current date.
CTRL+Alt  : Alternates between displaying cell values and displaying formulas in the worksheet.
CTRL+ Apostrophe - Copies a formula from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar.
CTRL+ Quote -Copies the value from the cell above the active cell into the cell or the Formula Bar.
CTRL+&    : Applies the outline border to the selected cells.
CTRL+_    :Removes the outline border from the selected cells.
CTRL++    :Displays the Insert dialog box to insert blank cells.
CTRL+1    : Displays the Format Cells dialog box.
CTRL+2    :Applies or removes bold formatting.
CTRL+3    :Applies or removes italic formatting.
CTRL+4    :Applies or removes underlining.
CTRL+5    :Applies or removes strikethrough.
CTRL+6    :Alternates between hiding objects, displaying objects, and displaying placeholders for objects.
CTRL+7    :Displays or hides the Standard toolbar.
CTRL+8    : Displays or hides the outline symbols.
CTRL+9    :Hides the selected rows.
CTRL+0    :Hides the selected columns.
CTRL+A    :Selects the entire worksheet. With Data- CTRL+A Selects the entire worksheet.
CTRL+SHIFT+A          :inserts the argument names and parentheses when the insertion point is to the right of afunction name in a formula.
CTRL+B    : Applies or removes bold formatting.
CTRL+C    :Copies the selected cells.
CTRL+C followed by another CTRL+C displays the Microsoft Office Clipboard.
CTRL+D    : Uses the Fill Down command to copy the contents and format of the topmost cell of a selected range into the cells below.
CTRL+F     :Displays the Find dialog box.
SHIFT+F5 : Also displays this dialog box, while SHIFT+F4 repeats the last Find action.
CTRL+G    : Displays the Go To dialog box.
F5 also displays this dialog box.
CTRL+H    :Displays the Find and Replace dialog box.
CTRL+I     :Applies or removes italic formatting.
CTRL+K    :Displays the Insert Hyperlink dialog box for new hyperlinks or the Edit Hyperlink dialog box for selected existing hyperlinks.
CTRL+L     :Displays the Create List dialog box.
CTRL+N    :Creates a new, blank file.
CTRL+O    :Displays the Open dialog box to open or find a file.
CTRL+SHIFT+O selects all cells that contain comments.
CTRL+P    :Displays the Print dialog box.
CTRL+R    :Uses the Fill Right command to copy the contents and format of the leftmost cell of a selected range into the cells to the right.
CTRL+S     :Saves the active file with its current file name, location, and file format.
CTRL+U    : Applies or removes underlining.
CTRL+V    :Inserts the contents of the Clipboard at the insertion point and replaces any selection.
Available only after you cut or copied an object, text, or cell contents.
CTRL+W   :Closes the selected workbook window.
CTRL+X    :Cuts the selected cells.
CTRL+Y    :Repeats the last command or action, if possible.
CTRL+Z     :Uses the Undo command to reverse the last command or to delete the last entry you typed.
CTRL+SHIFT+Z          : uses the Undo or Redo command to reverse or restore the last automatic correction when AutoCorrect Smart Tags are displayed.
F1 Displays the Help task pane.
CTRL+F1 :closes and reopens the current task pane.
ALT+F1     : creates a chart of the data in the current range.
ALT+SHIFT+F1 inserts a new worksheet.
F2 Edits the active cell and positions the insertion point at the end of the cell contents. It also
moves the insertion point into the Formula Bar when editing in a cell is turned off.
SHIFT+F2       :Edits a cell comment.
F3 Pastes a defined name into a formula.
SHIFT+F3 :Displays the Insert Function dialog box.
F4 Repeats the last command or action, if possible.
CTRL+F4  : closes the selected workbook window.
F5 Displays the Go To dialog box.
CTRL+F5  : restores the window size of the selected workbook window.
F6 Switches to the next pane in a worksheet that has been split (Window menu, Split command).
SHIFT+F6       :switches to the previous pane in a worksheet that has been split.
CTRL+F6 :switches to the next workbook window when more than one workbook window is open.
When the task pane is visible, F6 and SHIFT+F6 include that pane when switching between panes.
F7 Displays the Spelling dialog box to check spelling in the active worksheet or selected range.

CTRL+F7 :Performs the Move command on the workbook window when it is not maximized. Use the arrow
keys to move the window, and when finished press ESC.
F8 Turns extend mode on or off. In extend mode, EXT appears in the status line, and the arrow keys
extend the selection.
SHIFT+F8 : Enables you to add a non-adjacent cell or range to a selection of cells by using the arrow keys.
CTRL+F8 :Performs the Size command (on the Control menu for the workbook window) when a workbook is not
maximized.
ALT+F8     :Displays the Macro dialog box to run, edit, or delete a macro.
F9 Calculates all worksheets in all open workbooks.
F9 followed by ENTER (or followed by CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER for array formulas) calculates the selected a portion of a formula and replaces the selected portion with the calculated value.
SHIFT+F9       :Calculates the active worksheet.
CTRL+ALT+F9           :Calculates all worksheets in all open workbooks, regardless of whether they have changed
since the last calculation.
CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+F9 rechecks dependent formulas, and then calculates all cells in all open workbooks,
including cells not marked as needing to be calculated.
CTRL+F9 :Minimizes a workbook window to an icon.
F10 Selects the menu bar or closes an open menu and submenu at the same time.
SHIFT+F10 displays the shortcut menu for a selected item.
ALT+SHIFT+F10 displays the menu or message for a smart tag. If more than one smart tag is present, it
switches to the next smart tag and displays its menu or message.
CTRL+F10 maximizes or restores the selected workbook window.
F11 Creates a chart of the data in the current range.
SHIFT+F11 inserts a new worksheet.
ALT+F11 opens the Visual Basic Editor, in which you can create a macro by using Visual Basic for
Applications (VBA).
ALT+SHIFT+F11 opens the Microsoft Script Editor, where you can add text, edit HTML tags, and modify any script code.
F12 Displays the Save As dialog box.
ARROW KEYS Move one cell up, down, left, or right in a worksheet.
CTRL+ARROW KEY moves to the edge of the current data region (data region: A range of cells that contains
data and that is bounded by empty cells or datasheet borders.) in a worksheet.
SHIFT+ARROW KEY extends the selection of cells by one cell.
CTRL+SHIFT+ARROW KEY extends the selection of cells to the last nonblank cell in the same column or row
as the active cell.
LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW selects the menu to the left or right when a menu is visible. When a submenu
is open these arrow keys switch between the main menu and the submenu.
DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW selects the next or previous command when a menu or submenu is open.
ALT+DOWN ARROW opens a selected drop-down list.
BACKSPACE Deletes one character to the left in the Formula Bar.
DELETE Removes the cell contents (data and formulas) from selected cells without affecting cell formats
or comments.
END Moves to the cell in the lower-right corner of the window when SCROLL LOCK is turned on.
CTRL+END moves to the last cell on a worksheet, in the lowest used row of the rightmost used column.
CTRL+SHIFT+END extends the selection of cells to the last used cell on the worksheet (lower-right corner)
.
ENTER Completes a cell entry from the cell or the Formula Bar, and selects the cell below (by default).
ENTER In a data form, it moves to the first field in the next record.
ALT+ENTER starts a new line in the same cell.
CTRL+ENTER fills the selected cell range with the current entry.
SHIFT+ENTER completes a cell entry and selects the cell above.
ESC Cancels an entry in the cell or Formula Bar.
HOME Moves to the beginning of a row in a worksheet.
CTRL+HOME moves to the beginning of a worksheet.
CTRL+SHIFT+HOME extends the selection of cells to the beginning of the worksheet.
PAGE DOWN Moves one screen down in a worksheet.
ALT+PAGE DOWN moves one screen to the right in a worksheet.
CTRL+PAGE DOWN moves to the next sheet in a workbook.
CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE DOWN selects the current and next sheet in a workbook.
PAGE UP Moves one screen up in a worksheet.
ALT+PAGE UP moves one screen to the left in a worksheet.
CTRL+PAGE UP moves to the previous sheet in a workbook.
CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE UP selects the current and previous sheet in a workbook.
SPACEBAR In a dialog box, performs the action for the selected button, or selects or clears a check box.
CTRL+SPACEBAR selects an entire column in a worksheet.
SHIFT+SPACEBAR selects an entire row in a worksheet.
CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR selects the entire worksheet.
If the worksheet contains data, CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR selects the current region. Pressing CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR a second time selects the entire
worksheet.
When an object is selected, CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR selects all objects on a worksheet.
ALT+SPACEBAR displays the Control menu for the Excel window.
TAB Moves one cell to the right in a worksheet.
Moves to the next option or option group in a dialog box.
SHIFT+TAB moves to the previous cell in a worksheet or the previous option in a dialog box.
CTRL+TAB switches to the next tab in dialog box.
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB switches to the previous tab in a dialog box.

Courtesy : http://sapost.blogspot.in/

Start Menu for Windows 8 : Free Software

Start Menu 8 is specially designed for Windows 8. It offers a perfect solution for users who work with Windows Start Menu all the time and are not accustomed to the new Metro start screen in Windows 8. This smart tool brings back both the start button and Windows Start Menu, and offers the option to skip Metro start page, allowing users who only work on desktop to boot to Windows 8 desktop directly. It's the best start menu replacement for Windows 8.

Click here to Download

Fix : 912 - The computer has been removed in the HP Compaq

On the Desktop computer HP Compaq  after opening the cover of CPU case (altough it has been closed back again), when starting the computer,  there will be the alarm tone sound is quite disturbing.And we must press the F1 key to continue loading the OS (Operating System).

warning: 
error  912 - The computer has been removed. The machinecover has been removed
since last system start up.

To solve this problem:

• Turn the computer on
• Press F10 to enter the BIOS setup, wait for about 10 seconds
• Find the Hardware Monitor Setup menu (use arrow keys), select then press enter

• On Reset Case Open Status, change value  from Disable to Enable (use + on the numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard to change the value)
• Press F10 to save the configuration, press Enter.

Courtesy : http://potools.blogspot.in

TIPS FOR SAFE EMAIL

•  Guard Yourself against Phishing.
• Change your password on regular basis as per the password policy.
• Do not share your password with anyone.
• Always remember to sign out properly after using your mail account.
• Do not save or remember your password anywhere.
• Use Anti-Virus software & update it on regular basis.
• Update the operating system and application patches.
• Use automatic reply only when needed.
• Never open / respond any mail / attachment from unknown sender.
• Never subscribe your email ID on unsafe locations (over internet).

   

1. Guard yourself against Phishing

Common email scams employ email messages and even websites that look official, but are in fact attempts to steal your identity to commit fraud. This is the activity commonly known as ‘Phishing’.

Make sure that the address in your browser is genuine and does belong to the website you need to access. Don't ever copy URLs from e-mails. Type out the URL in a new window.

Never click on a link within an email requesting that you enter your username, password, etc. The link can also be malicious.

Do not open any 'fishy' emails. Delete immediately. Emails that have misspellings, poor graphics, or include a long cc list of other email addresses can be suspicious. 

Install a web reputation filter on your desktop that alerts users to phishing websites.

Make sure that you have unique username and passwords for each account/website you regularly visit. 

Never give out sensitive personal or account information to someone that asks via email unless you have verified the message's authenticity.

2. Change your password on regular basis as per the password policy. 

It is recommended to change passwords on a regular basis .

3. Do not share your password with anyone. 

Don't share your password. Do not be duped by malicious e-mails asking you for your password. This is a well-known, trick designed to fool you into sharing your password. As a rule, never share it with anyone.

4. Always remember to sign out properly after using your mail account. 

Always log out of your email when finished, whether you are using web mail or POP mail. It is also recommended to log out whenever you have to leave your computer unattended for a considerable period of time.

5. Do not save or remember your password anywhere.

Do not “save / remember” your password anywhere (say your browser, POP Client).

6. Use Anti-Virus software & update it on regular basis.

It is also highly recommended to install and maintain a anti-virus software on your computer to prevent infection from USB drives, CDs or DVDs and so on. Make sure it is updated regularly. Scan all attachments with a virus program before downloading/executing any, even if they come from someone you know.

Computers that are infected with spyware/key loggers record every word that users are typing, hence a daily scan is recommended.

7. Update the operating system and application patches

Users need to ensure that their desktop/laptop has the latest operating system and application patches. If the patch levels are not updated, updated anti-virus software will not be able to prevent an infection. Both anti-virus and operating system patches need to work together.

8. Use automatic reply only when needed.

It is savvy to turn off any automatic replies in your email client saying that an email has been read or received, because this confirms that the email address is a good one. Spammers will then target your email as a priority and flood your inbox with even more unnecessary and potentially harmful mails.

9. Never open / respond any mail / attachment from unknown sender.

If it happens that a few spam mails do manage to sneak through, make it a must to delete all them. Replying / Opening such emails / attachments typically only informs the sender that they have found an active email address to send more spam emails or They may contain what are known as "letterbombs" or "viruses," which can damage your PC.

10. Never subscribe your email ID on unsafe locations (over internet).

Never subscribe your email address on any unsafe / fake website, they may try to flood your inbox or spammers will try to send bulk spam mails (which may contain virus).

Source : https://mail.nic.in/docs/nic1.html & http://mysapost.blogspot.in/

Fixing Hard Drive Errors in Windows

If you have lots of wealth like gold, platinum, emerald or diamonds in your possession, you will definitely try to keep them in a safe vault. You want their 100% safety and you don’t want to leave any chance for them to get damaged or stolen. In regards to personal computing, the hard drive of your computer can be compared with a humongous vault that contains a massive amount of information, data and programs. Most of the items you have left there are vital with respect to your computing needs – and some could be assets even more precious than expensive gems.

By every means, the hard drive of your computer is one of the most important devices attached to your PC. You need to ensure a  inside your PC, capable of delivering top notch data storage and retrieval services when you need. Otherwise, your PC could easily become hard to drive!

In the older days, there used to be complex processes that needed to be performed on hard drives in order to maintain, check or repair them. MS DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) based utilities were widely used that only a techno savvy person was able to handle successfully. But now the situation is changing rapidly. As the new generation operating systems evolve tremendously in terms of simplifying user’s administrative and maintenance features, anyone with a basic technical know how could perform various computer maintenance and repair activities on hard drives that are very useful.

Hard Drive Error Types and How to Fix Them

Apart from mechanical or electronic flaws at hardware level, a hard drive could have three other types of errors at the systems level;

• MBR (Master Boot Record) Fault and the Boot Fault
• File System Fault
• Bad Physical Sector Faults

MBR (Master Boot Record) Fault and the Boot Fault

An MBR is a little piece of information (a small file) stored in the 1^st sector of the hard drive that generally tells how many logical drives the hard drive has, their capacity and which logical drive should be used for the system to boot from. Logical drives are like drive letters C, D …G that we often see under “My Computer” and we use them to store files or programs. Actually a hard drive could have only one or more than one partition, but for better usability, hard drives are often partitioned more than once. And in that case, their logical drive names ranges from C, D, E and F to G or H.

Now this MBR thing is still a complicated issue but can be used to fix boot errors. I will cover this at the end, just after finishing off on the easy stuff. To fix the other two types of faults mentioned above, you may take the following steps.

File System Fault

Please note that if you have experienced hard drive failure then using some system tools such as Check Disc can reduce your chances of data recovery.

1. Go to your “Windows explorer” by right clicking on the Windows “Start button” and then selecting “Computer”.

2. Here you will see the list of all your logical drives like C, E, F and G.

3. Now let’s say for example you want to check your G drive for errors. Bring the mouse over on the G drive and right click and then select “properties ” at the bottom of the menu. This will launch the properties window for your G drive as shown below.

4. On this screen, you can also perform several other useful features in addition to fixing drive errors. For example, if your PC is shared by several users, you can limit drive space quotas for these users so that one user cannot fill up the entire hard drive. To enable quota system, you can hit “quota” on the top menu and then click “show quota settings”. Select “yes” when the Windows user account security will ask for confirmation to proceed. Now you will come on the quota management screen as shown in image 3. Select “enable quota management” and then select “limit disk space to” and then enter the value of maximum quota the user should be able to use in the drop down box. That should limit the quota to this new assigned value you just entered.

5. On the hard drive properties window, you can also perform several other functions using the “security” tab and the “sharing” tab. For example, if you want to limit a particular user not to be able to “modify” anything on your G drive, you can do that in the “security” screen. And if you are in a Local Area Network (LAN) and want to share the G drive with another user on the same network, you can do that in the “sharing” screen.

Now let’s go back to fixing hard drive problem.

1. Click on the “Tools” tab. You will reach the screen as shown in image 4.  Hit “Check Now” on this screen. Select “Yes” confirming Windows that you want to proceed.

2. You will now reach the check disk screen for G drive as shown in image below. Here you can select both the options or just the 1^st one to start with. It is recommended to begin with the 1^st option as the system itself will prompt you to perform the bad sector scan after completion of the 1^st option if it sniffs any bad sectors in your hard drive.

Keep in mind that the bad sectors cannot be recovered all the time, but performing these operations will help the OS understand that there are bad sectors in your hard drive and it will be better prepared to accommodate them or rather stay away from them. Running the file system scan will fix all the file system related errors in your G drive.

Bad Physical Sector Faults

If bad sectors are detected after going for the 2^ndoption, it will be sensible to replace the hard drive with a new one and transfer all the data to the new one before it is too late. After fixing one logical drive G, now you can perform the same operation on other logical drives.

Physical Failure: Physical failure is the major cause of hard drive failure results in damaged inner equipment’s such as platter, head crash, spindle motor etc. But there is a good possibility that your data is still intact and accessible by some special recovery software. Most common reasons behind physical hard drive failure are due to bumping, jarring or dropping the computer while it is running.

Fixing Master Boot Record (MBR)

Coming back to MBR fault, this is often created by a boot sector virus making changes on the tiny MBR file that you have in your hard drive.  When the MBR gets corrupt, often the system will wrongly show more logical drives than you actually have, or their names will be changed erratically.

For example, you know you have only drive C, D and E in your PC and suddenly you see there is an additional drive F out of nowhere, more likely you have an MBR virus! The MBR can be repaired by executing a command called “fixmbr” at the command prompt. To do this, you need to boot off the installation disk in your CD or DVD drive. When setup launches, go for the system recovery option and to command prompt. At the command prompt, type: BootRec.exe /fixmbr and hit enter. This should fix the MBR of your hard drive.

The BootRec.exe command is only for Windows Seven and Vista, for Windows XP, at the command prompt you just need to type: “fixmbr” command and hit enter. “fixboot” command can also be used for fixing boot initialization problem. Here is more detailed description of how to fix the MBR.

It is advisable not to try running these commands unless you have a real good reason to do so. Having a technical person right next to you is also not a bad idea if you don’t have sufficient PC maintenance knowledge.

Source : http://tips4pc.com/